PSO Presents The Four Seasons with a Tango Twist

On Thursday, September 15 at 8 pm, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) presents The Seasons -- Antonio Vivaldi's popular The Four Seasons interwoven with Astor Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, arranged by Leonid Desyatnikov. The concert at Richardson Auditorium features Daniel Rowland as violinist and conductor, leading the PSO through Vivaldi's vividly depicted scenery and Piazzolla's soulful homage infused with passionate melodies and tango rhythms.

Daniel Rowland has established himself on the international scene as a highly versatile, charismatic, and adventurous performer. The Guardian describes his playing as "glorious...ravishing in its finesse."A passionate chamber musician, Daniel is the first violin of the renowned Brodsky Quartet, and has performed with artists as diverse as Ivry Gitlis, Heinz Holliger, Gilles Apap, Marcelo Nisinman, Martin Fröst, Elvis Costello, and Lars Vogt. He is professor of violin at the Royal College of Music in London, and is in demand as a soloist/director, in addition to frequently performing as guest concertmaster with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Daniel plays on a Lorenzo Storioni violin, made in Cremona, Italy in 1776.

Of this exciting expansion to the PSO's regular season, Music Director Rossen Milanov writes, "I'm thrilled we can bring Daniel's passionate interpretations of the Vivaldi and Piazzolla Four Seasons to Princeton. It's going to be a wonderful concert and a great prologue to our season of creative expression."

Vivaldi's musical imagery was likely inspired by his travels through the Italian countryside. Sonnets meant to describe each season and its scenes are included in the Four Seasons score. Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov arranged Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires for violin soloist and strings for Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer, allowing the two works be performed as a set. Desyatnikov includes several quotations from Vivaldi, but due to seasons being inverted between northern and southern hemispheres, aspects of movements are likewise inverted i.e. Verano Porteño (Summer) includes elements of Vivaldi's "Winter."

In addition to performing The Seasons, Mr. Rowland will be playing alongside PSO principal musicians at the PSO's opening chamber concert of The Schubert Octet at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) on Thursday, September 22. The concert is offered in partnership with IAS and is free to the public with ticketed reservations available via princetonsymphony.org.

Additional guest artists on the PSO's 2016-2017 season are violinist Leila Josefowicz, pianist Natasha Paremski, clarinetist David Krakauer, and violinist Philippe Graffin. The orchestra will perform works by six living composers, including the world premiere of a PSO-commissioned work by Princeton-based composer JulIan Grant, and the U.S. premiere of Zhou Tian's Broken Ink.

Tickets for The Seasons and other PSO Classical Series concerts are on sale at the following price levels: $82, $65, $52, $33, and $25 (student). Includes admission to 7 pm Pre-Concert Talk. Five and six-concert subscriptions are also available. Purchase atwww.princetonsymphony.org or call (609) 497-0020.

Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, internationally renowned conductor Rossen Milanov was appointed music director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in 2009. With an impressive pedigree, including positions at the Philadelphia Orchestra, he has since galvanized the PSO with his energetic and exacting conducting. Milanov's exuberant and brilliant performances are characterized by sharp musical intellect, artistic ingenuity, poetic eloquence and critical acclaim.

Mr. Milanov is also at the helm of the Columbus Symphony, the Chautauqua Symphony and the Orquesta Sinf?nica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain. At the PSO, his programming embraces the standard repertoire, rarities and premiers performed by emerging and superstar soloists and featuring celebrated American composers.

Milanov is deeply committed to music education and every season he leads the PSO's BRAVO concerts for thousands of children. He was named Bulgaria's Musician of the Year in 2005; he won a 2011 ASCAP award for new music at the PSO; and he was selected as one of the top 100 most influential people in New Jersey in 2014. He is a graduate of Curtis and The Juilliard School.

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey's finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending their first live orchestral performance. With considerable community support and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the PSO is also a multiple-year recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts' highest honors. The PSO has been recognized for its commitment to new music with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.